AND A. I. ULYANOVA-ELIZAROVA

28/XII. 98. Minusinsk

I am writing to you, dear Mamma, from Minusinsk; Nadia and I have come here for the holidays and will stay until the 1st. We are spending our time here splendidly. This is exactly the kind of rest from work one could wish for. We are diligently skating, singing, and so on.

Your V. U.

* New style. Ed.

On another sheet I am writing to Anyuta.

Yesterday I received a letter from Manyasha from Brussels with a new address.

To Anyuta

I received your postcard of 5. XII and your letter of 8. XII. Thank you very much for it. I read a detailed account of the écrivain's report in the "Russkiye Vedomosti." Indeed, with such new views it hardly seemed worth presenting in a brief summary. The remnants of Fedoseyev's work would have been interesting in this respect; he held, it seems, quite different views on our landlord economy before the reform.121

(I cannot recall whether I reported that we have received "N. Z." up to and including issue no. 24.)

As for the "Memorial Book of Tula Province," I did write that it was for A. Sklyarenko, whose address I did not have at that time. I reported long ago about my receipt of the literacy committee's account.* 

I agree with the writer's advice (submit to the printer at once, take the size and typeface of Tugan-Baranovsky's book,122 and do not send proofs here). The typeface of "Crises" will not be insufficiently compact: it will come to about 500 pages. I have finished two more chapters (the 5th and 6th), of which the fifth has already been recopied. I hope to finish everything in the course of January.

The second proofs, of course, I agree to entrust to you and will be very, very grateful for this heavy and thankless work. But a paid proofreader is nonetheless absolutely necessary; in my opinion, 2 rubles per sheet is too little; give 3 rubles and more for two sets of proofs and take the third (not the second) set for yourself. For typos send them to me (not on separate sheets, but 5-10 sheets at a time). The only thing is, I do not think it entirely convenient for you to send me the manuscript draft: I sometimes need additions, insertions, etc., and without the draft I cannot make these changes. Is it not possible to pay the proofreader more and oblige him to send you along with the proofs small sheets of white—

* See this volume, pp. 111 and 118. Ed.